In the midst of Mid-American Conference play, Ball State has hit a consistency that had been missing for the better part of a month.
Much of the credit goes to the most maligned part of the team so far this year - the attack.
During its 4-6 stretch to start the season, Ball State struggled to a .206 attack percentage including four matches below the .200 mark. Last season's NCAA tournament team finished with a .242 percentage en route to a 25-8 record.
But since Ball State started its five-match winning streak, it hasn't had an attack percentage less than .200 and has slowly improved it to .229. That consistency is the biggest reason for Ball State's rebound in its winning streak, the brunt of which has been spearheaded by senior outside hitter Kara Bates.
Bates said the influx of new starters and junior setter Jacqui Seidel's improving comfort after tearing her ACL in 2011 has played a big role in the struggle to regain the same form as last year.
"We are asking people to step up that haven't stepped up before," Bates said. "[Consistency is] really important and we're peaking at the right time right now."
Bates has been a different player after meeting with coach Steve Shondell following a loss to Creighton in the Northern Colorado Classic. She has recorded two matches with an attack percentage more than .400 with her lowest being .258 in a three-set win over Pittsburgh.
Shondell said Bates' leadership has allowed everyone else to relax on the court.
"She's allowed Jacqui [Seidel] to become more of the setter she's capable of being," he said.
It wasn't easy going to go through a 4-6 slide, Bates said, but Shondell's advice to remain calm and positive have been effective for her.
"I really respect Steve as a person and I think that when we were kind of in our slump, it was just like we didn't know what to do," Bates said. "No one really had answers.
"We had such high goals going into the season that we kind of expected to come out of the gates running and that frustrated us a lot."
Senior middle blocker Lisa Scott said everyone has improved in the last couple weeks, not just Seidel, and the hitter still has to do her job regardless of the set.
"It's not an excuse if a ball isn't in the right spot and you still make an error," Scott said. "It's still an error and it still counts against you. You just have to figure out that you have to do whatever you have to do to keep the ball in play."
Much of the work has been to improve Seidel's footwork and to have more balance on sets, Bates said.
In the wake of Seidel's quick return from her ACL injury, Shondell has noticed her favoring her stronger leg more. Correcting that has been a key to the improved connections.
"A lot of it has to do with Jacqui just staying balanced on [her] two feet," Bates said.
Shondell said the setter to hitter connections have been far more consistent in the last couple weeks, but he can still see improvement.
Ball State is going to need to continue that progress if it hopes to compete in the MAC and make another NCAA tournament in 2012.
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